In each edition we feature the views of a Local Government Association President. The following is from Councillor Bill Mitchell, President of the Western Australian Local Government Association.
More than ever, Local Government is facing pressure across our sphere of government and the extent of its role in relation to State and Federal Governments. Be it devolution of responsibilities by State Government, usurping our planning powers, or regional cooperation and structural reform of Councils, we can’t afford to be ignorant or not involved in the process. We need to manage community expectations, as well as sustaining the relevance of Local Government.
The most contentious issue on the Western Australian horizon is the current number of Councils relative to other States and the reality that every State except Western Australia has gone through, or is currently going through, a consolidation process.
In Western Australia, we have actually created more Councils with the splitting of the City of Perth and Wanneroo, but we would not be being honest if we said that Local Government in WA was going to remain as it is today with 144 Councils.
WA has to face the reality that change is inevitable and ensure that we are active participants in discussions in Local, State and Federal arenas, and to do so we have to agree what we want to see out of the process. We need to have the courage to shape the change process and so help shape the future of our local communities.
What we want to achieve and what we are prepared to concede is a discussion far beyond the scope of this article, but we need to give this thought and not leave it for someone else and expect to get what we want. WA has strength in our 144 Councils being united, and the strength of the Association is in the quality of our membership.
In addition to our successful lobbying efforts with the State and Federal Governments, the Association has also expanded its range of services that have enabled our 144 members to receive direct financial benefit, often many times the value of their membership subscription.
The most prominent of these is the Local Government Group Advertising Service, which provided total savings of $1.2 million and the Local Government Telecommunications Contract which delivered in excess of $4 million in savings.
Continuing this development of professional services, the Association has finalised a new strategic alliance for the provision of legal services with the Wojtowicz Kelly group, the resulting specialist service will be known as Civic Legal.
Last year, we successfully launched the Local Government After Hours Contact Centre which has seen Councils provide a 24 hour contact to a third of the State’s population.
This year also marks the ten year anniversary of the move to group self insurance for Local Government in WA. The outstanding performance of the scheme has enabled substantial cost decreases this year for many Councils on their liability and property contributions. A strength of the insurance scheme is that we have 100 per cent participation by Local Government in WA.
These are just some of the examples that demonstrate that when we all pull together in the same direction we will achieve a great deal more than fracturing off in regional, political or operational groups.
